Teen Sarfaraz pulled up in age issue again

Nov 19, 2011, 08:13 IST
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Sundari Iyer

Controversy over his age seems to be never ending

Controversy over his age seems to be never ending. Promising cricketer Sarfaraz Khan, famous for his record-breaking score of 439 in the Harris Shield in 2009, was pulled up yesterday by Pantaloons' coach Rajan Dhotre questioning his eligibility for participation in the Times Shield as he is "under-age."

Sarfaraz Khan

Fourteen-year-old Sarfaraz is currently under scholarship with the Mumbai Police team. However, according to the tournament's rules, only players above 16 years are eligible to play, even if he is under a scholarship.

Dhotre said: "After our Times Shield 'B' Division match which we lost to Mumbai Police (November 15-17), we lodged a complaint as Sarfaraz is under 16, and going by the rules, a player is eligible to play in the tournament only if he is 16 or above."

Mumbai Police secretary Iqbal Shaikh said: "If Sachin Tendulkar can play Test cricket at the age of 16, why can't Sarfaraz play in this tournament?" Burzin Mehta of the Times Cricket's Organising Committee refused to comment on the issue.